When I first unwrapped my HP Mini 311, the first thing I did was coo, “Aww, it’s so cute!”, much in the same way I’d coo over a newborn baby or a kitten. But really, the HP Mini 311 is cute. It’s also pretty peppy for a computer that is sporting a 1.60 GHz processor and a measly 1GB of RAM (note: I’m going to do something about the RAM asap). It came with Windows XP, but I upgraded that to Windows 7. I’m sure XP would run a little faster than Windows 7, but I’m a Windows 7 kind of girl. Sorry XP, but you’re not for me!
Size-wise, the HP Mini 311 measures in at 11.4″ in length, , with a diagonal measurement of 11.6″ (handy to know when you’re shopping for sleeves or cases). It weighs 3.26 lbs., which while on the heavy side for a netbook, is still soooooooooo much lighter than my 7.74 lb (and that’s without the battery, and the power cord and bag I carry it in!) HP dv7. The keyboard is 92% of a regular sized keyboard, which for me is more than adequate for blogging, emailing, or even banging out a 400 word article on baby shower invitations. The touchpad… eh… to be honest I’m not too fond of it. It’s not that I’m against touchpads. I’m just against this particular touch pad. It’s draggy yet hyper-sensitive, if that makes sense. It feels like my fingers catch on the touch pad, yet the mouse arrow is busy having seizures on the screen. Intuitive touchpad my ass.
So now that I’ve had and have been using the HP Mini 311 for almost two weeks, what do I think? I love it. It’s inferior to my laptop, obviously, but it isn’t fair to compare an 11.6″ netbook with a 1.60 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM to a 17″ laptop with a 2.2 GHz processor and 4GB of RAM, so why bother? When it comes to convenience and ease of transport, the HP Mini 311 wins, no questions asked. I simply stick it in the sleeve I found for it (the BUILT 12-13″ laptop sleeve fits it quite nicely) at Staples, and I’m good to go. Since I generally use larger, deeper style hobo purses and bags, I can fit the entire sleeve into my bag. It also stores quite nicely in the glove compartment of my mother’s car, and under the seats in my car and in Dan’s car (though if I’m going to be out anywhere, I usually stick it in the trunk or carry it with me so I don’t have to worry about someone spotting it and breaking into the car to get it!).
In summary, I love the HP Mini 311, at least in terms of having a small, easier-to-transport-than-a-laptop solution. It is definitely adequate for browsing the web, checking email, talking on Skype, and doing general easy-on-the-processor tasks. It’s also nice for listening to music on iTunes or watching videos on Windows Media Player. But I would definitely not recommend doing a bunch of tasks at once, or doing intense photo editing, or else you’re going to definitely notice a lag!
I’ve been looking at netbooks more and more these days since I’ve been out and about more often than before. Been looking at getting the Asus eee PC which is a 1.66GHz 10″ with a 250GB HD. What’s the HD space on yours?
@Keeshia: I was going to say, you would definitely benefit from a netbook with all of the bicycling you’ve been doing! The 311 came with a 160GB hard drive.